This is an opinion article. 

News Flash: Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist, a murderer and a monster, not an influential figure. To think that young people, the “up-and-coming” generations of Americans are attempting to justify 9/11 and terrorism across the board is simply baffling. 

So let’s take a step back. Late last month, a 2002 letter written by the world’s infamous terrorist Osama Bin Laden titled “Letter to America” was rediscovered and quickly spread throughout numerous social media platforms. The voices amplifying the messages in the letter were generally young people on TikTok, who are nothing more than the personification of stupidity. These videos – which tried to draw connections between points in the letter to imperialism and US-backed financial aid to Israel – racked up millions of views. 

But not only is it disturbing that people find it appropriate to attempt to justify the horrors which occurred on 9/11, but it is particularly noteworthy that the letter is filled with antisemitic tropes, language and generally just blames Jews for a plethora of issues which they had nothing to do with. To think that the same people who vouch for equality and social reform would glorify an antisemitic letter written by a terrorist is, well, beyond comprehension. 

Let’s be clear. It is that same terrorist and his terrorist organization – Al Qaeda – who are responsible for the murder of nearly 3,000 people on 9/11 alone. The people who justify the mass murder of Americans like themselves, or disregard the real issue of antisemitism, simply because of a cherry-picked line or two which affirms their wrongfully-held beliefs about Israel is driving our country in a dangerous direction.

I could end the article here, because the aforementioned speaks volumes alone, but instead I’ll continue to add content and truly denote a disturbing trend in American society. The Anti-Defamation League reported a 388% increase in antisemitic incidents in the United States since Oct. 7, when Hamas, another globally recognized and disturbingly sympathized with terrorist organization, invaded the state of Israel and slaughtered over 1,000 people.  

In one Tiktok influencer’s own words, she states that she doesn’t know who the terrorists are. This same creator directly reads lines from the Letter to America, acting as if she was just enlightened, hearing a terrorists view of the Jewish people, one which dehumanizes them. That video got millions of views. What is fascinating is that these people genuinely question who the bad guy is. 

Are we seriously going to ask the question of if Osama Bin Laden was a terrorist? Another news flash: The people who hijacked the planes and flew them into buildings on 9/11 were the terrorists. The people who invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and massacred entire families were the terrorists. Not the innocent people who died. 

It would be truly beneficial for these “enlightened thinkers” to do a minute or two of research, instead of relying on the words of Osama Bin Laden.